Civil Rights Act of 1964, the

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishCivil Rights Act of 1964, thethe Civil Rights Act of 1964Civil Rights Act of 1964, the /ˌsɪvəl ˌraɪts ækt əv ˌnaɪntiːn sɪksti ˈfɔː $ -ˈfɔːr/a US law which says that businesses must treat people equally whatever their colour or religion, and that they cannot refuse to employ someone because of their colour. This law also says that restaurants and hotels cannot refuse to serve someone because of their colour. During the 1960s many white people, especially in the south, disliked this law and often ignored it. People in the US remembernewsreports about African Americans going to restaurants which previously only served white people, and that this causedanger among white racists and sometimesled to violence.